Automatic kills and combat cancel cards

[sten]

A simple scenario -
Player 1 fights a monster he automatically defeats (E.g., lvl1 vs. "The Churninator")
Player 2 wanders in a monster that doesn't die automatically but that player 1 can still defeat.

Now another card is played - one that cancels the combat (let's say "Friendship Potion" or "Deus Ex Machinegun" but really any card which immediately ends combat).

The question - does player 1 goes up a level since he has killed the first monster, or doesn't he since the combat was ended by a no-kills card?